Holy Family - B, 31st December 2017

THE CHILD GREW TO MATURITY, AND HE WAS FILLED WITH WISDOM

The time between Christmas and New Year is often family time, a good time to think about what family means. We try to connect with and enjoy the company of those with whom we have family ties, especially those who are alone or struggling in some way. Many parents value the extra time they are able to spend with their children over this period.In the Gospel, Luke depicts Mary and Joseph as observant Jews bringing their child to the Jerusalem Temple in accordance with the ritual requirements of the Law, even if the Law actually applied only to the woman who had given birth and not to the man.Growing up in Nazareth in the care of Mary and Joseph, the child Jesus grows to maturity, is filled with wisdom and God's favour is with him. Luke’s summary statement introduces us to the wonderful world of a grace-filled family home. It invites us to ponder the wisdom that both Mary and Joseph had to share with their child. They taught him to pray and told him the stories of his people. They filled him with wonder at the goodness of God and of God’s creation. They mediated the grace and favour of God and watched him grow and gain the strength he needed for life. They allowed him the freedom he needed to develop his own personality and to find his own Spirit-filled way on the earth. Finally, they had to let him go so that he might follow a path that was beyond their imagining when they brought him to the Temple in fulfilment of the Law. In other words, Mary and Joseph did what so many parents would want to do for their children.